Chapter 5: To Kill a Brother
The rain had no scent.
That was what Jiang Fan noticed first as he stepped into Baiwu Fortress — a crumbling outpost nestled at the edge of the Spirit-Gnawed Plains. The sky above swirled with unnatural clouds, and qi in the air trembled as if fearing the ground it touched.
A man stood on the gatehouse.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Scarred from chin to collar.
His name was Wei Tong, a rogue cultivator once feared across three provinces — until he fell into obscurity, betrayed by his sect, his name erased from temple scrolls. Now, he ruled over outcasts, mercenaries, and fugitives. And for some reason… he welcomed Jiang Fan with open arms.
"You look like a man who's seen hell," Wei Tong grinned.
Jiang Fan didn't reply.
Wei laughed anyway. "Good. That means you've got no illusions left."
For three weeks, Jiang Fan stayed.
He didn't speak much. But he listened.
And what he found… was strange.
There were no power-hungry tyrants in Baiwu. No greedy sect elders. Just broken men and women trying to survive in a world that spat on weakness.
They drank together.
They bled together.
And when a rogue beast tide stormed the walls, it was Jiang Fan who leapt from the parapet, cloak fluttering like a broken wing, cutting down horrors like a god reborn in bone.
That night, the fortress chanted his name.
"Demonheart! Demonheart!"
And for the first time… he didn't feel the need to correct them.
Wei Tong approached him at the bonfire later. The fire reflected in his half-blind eye.
"You're strong," he said, "but your heart's colder than death. I've seen your type. You burn bright. Then you vanish."
Jiang Fan looked up. "Then don't follow me."
Wei laughed. "Too late."
Days passed.
Jiang Fan trained alone atop a crag behind the fortress, where qi trembled unnaturally. His system pulsed with activity.
Emotion Drain Threshold Reached.
Seed Progress: 24%
Unlocked: Demon Cocoon (Passive)
Host now regenerates faster when surrounded by grief or guilt.
Then one night, Wei Tong brought a gift.
"Found this in a ruin ten years ago," he said, handing over a rusted black scroll.
The moment Jiang Fan touched it, his fingers bled.
Forbidden Soul Technique Fragment Detected. Potential Merge with Heart Demon Path: 62%. Risk of backlash: 88%. Proceed?
Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes.
"Where did you really get this?"
Wei Tong's smile was tired.
"It was bait."
Steel rang in the dark.
Jiang Fan dodged to the left as Wei's palm split the air like thunder. Rocks cracked. Trees shattered. Wei's cultivation surged with forbidden energy—enhanced by the scroll Jiang Fan now knew was poisoned with intent.
"You brought me here… to feed me to something?" Jiang Fan hissed.
Wei's face flickered with regret. "They made me. The Temple. They offered to restore my name. I thought you were just another damned monster."
"And now?"
Wei hesitated.
That was all Jiang Fan needed.
He moved.
The battle was short.
Too short.
Wei Tong died on his knees, blade in his shoulder, his chest open like a broken gate.
Jiang Fan held his face. Not out of compassion — but fury.
"You could've been the first."
Wei coughed blood. "We… were almost… brothers."
Jiang Fan's hand trembled.
Emotion Detected: Grief. Rage. Betrayal.
Seed Progress: 31.8%
New Trait Acquired: Void Bond Severance – First Betrayal Recorded.
Jiang Fan stood over Wei's corpse for a long time.
When he returned to the fortress, the people bowed to him. They expected salvation.
Instead, they saw black fire erupt from his shadow, and felt their hearts scream.
He left the fortress in ruins.
Elsewhere…
Atop a floating monastery, Monk Jieyin watched the smoke rise from the Spirit-Gnawed Plains.
He turned to the woman beside him—a veiled immortal, her presence wrapped in golden silence.
"What does your mirror say?" he asked.
She raised a silver disc etched with runes.
Jiang Fan's image flickered into view.
"Three more betrayals," she whispered. "And then he will ascend."
"To what?"
Her silence was answer enough.
End of Chapter 5